The Moose, The Sea Lion, and Madison
by Hollyflower98
Summary: Two-shot. First chapter about Madison and the moose, second chapter about when the Holts visit San Francisco.


**A/N: Hello, everyone! School has been pressing, to say the least, which is why it took me so long to write this. This piece has not been betaed, unfortunately, so if it's sub-par, that's because only I have edited it. Anyway, Reagan and Madison are ten, and Hamilton is fourteen.**

**Disclaimer:**** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

"Holts, formation!"

My siblings and I immediately stopped tackling each other and lined up at attention, shoulder-to-shoulder, Hamilton and me at either end. "Sir, yes, sir!" we all chorused.

Dad stood in front of us and announced, "Grab your swim gear! We're heading down to the creek!"

We all cheered, and it was an immediate mad dash for our three tents. Anyone else would have complained at the fact that the water was about 33 degrees Fahrenheit, and why where they camping in the dead of winter, anyway? We Holts didn't care.

Five minutes later it was a race to the creek, until Dad called out, "Company, FALL IN!" This time I was squished between Reagan and Hamilton, but I wasn't about to complain.

"Now, we are going to march down to the creek in a single-file line!" Dad continued. "No pushing, fighting, or any on that stuff until we reach the water! Understood?"

"Yessir!" was the response, and we started marching toward the creek.

As we neared the rushing creek, Dad suddenly commanded, "Halt!" Just then I noticed something in a clump of bushes to the left of us, and I took our pause as an opportunity.

"Sir, Dad, sir! Permission to speak, sir!"

Dad did an about-face to look at me. "Granted."

I pointed at the clump of bushes. "It's a moose!"

Everyone turned to look at the baby moose, half-hidden among the leaves, watching us with deep brown eyes.

I stepped toward it and held out my hand, palm facing up. "Hi, baby moose!" I said in what I thought to be a gentle tone of voice.

Suddenly, there was a rustling noise, and what must have been the mother stepped out. My face lit up at the prospect of another moose to play with.

Reagan turned to Mom. "Mom, can I see the moose too?"

"Go ahead, Reagan."

Reagan stepped forward with her hand outstretched, and I happened to glance back at our campsite. A park ranger had noticed us, and was running over to where we were. Meanwhile, Hamilton had stepped up to pet the moose with us, and our parents stood back and watched.

The park ranger had reached us by now, and hurriedly stepped forward to try to pull us away from the moose.

"You kids need to step back!" he yell-whispered at us. "Moose can be very dangerous!"

"Come on, ranger," Dad said, frowning. "They just want to pet the moose."

The ranger took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, sir, but I'm going to have to ask you all to be on your way. Moose can very violent when agitated."

"And do you see these moose being agitated?" Dad boomed.

The ranger glanced nervously at the moose, who had been silently watching us the entire time. "Moose can be unpredictable, sir. It's for everyone's safety that I ask you to leave the moose alone."

Dad stepped forward so that he towered over the park ranger, only an inch or so away from him. To his credit, the ranger stood his ground, albeit with a gulp.

"Now you listen here, ranger," Dad growled. "We came here to have a good time, and it that means petting the moose, then that's what we're gonna do. Understood?"

The ranger blinked, obviously debating between his job and his health. Eventually, he backed away and said, "Fine, but you do so at your own risk. Don't say I didn't warn you."

My siblings and I cheered, and our whole family got to pet the moose under the watchful eyes of the park ranger.

After a while, the moose began to walk away, and the ranger whistled. "That was some skill at moose handling," he said, sounding a bit impressed. "I'm surprised the mother didn't charge you."

I grinned. "I love moose!"

Dad turned to us and yelled, "Alright! Petting zoo time is over! FALL IN!"

We all assumed our single-file line and started marching toward the creek again.

I glanced back and saw the ranger walking up to our campsite, shaking his head and muttering to himself.

One week later, everything was packed up, and we were about ready to leave. As the van pulled away from our campsite, I peered out my window and saw the mama moose and her baby standing next to a bush, watching us leave. I rolled down my window and shouted at them.

"Bye, baby moose!"

**A/N: Hopefully I can get the one with the sea lion up soon. No promises, but I will definitely have it up before Christmas! *grins weakly***

**Please review!**

**To all my fellow Americans: Happy Thanksgiving!**

**Best wishes,**

**~(^.^)~Hollyflower98**


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